R888 vs Rival/RS3/Direzza

Good evening All. I purchased a Miata and am negotiating on a set of 6ul 15x8 wheels. For tires - are R888 any faster in auto-x conditions than the current hot "street" class tires? Mostly just curious, and R888's can be had in a similar price range here in the great north where we pay way more for...everything.

Use would be occasional street and auto-x, maybe a few lapping days.

I would expect the Rivals/RS3/Direzza to be faster than the R888. R888 won't have time to heat up.

Besides that, I believe that the R888 is rated at 100 treadware. That means that in autocross it would not be eligible for ST classes, so you would be bumped to street prepared.

I've used RA1s for autoxing -- my experience is that on the abrasive concrete lot that we use they don't really hit full grip until about the 6th or 7th run. R888s are supposedly a very similar compound to the RA1, so I wouldn't expect similar performance in that regard. That might be OK if you have a co-driver, but they'll put you into a class with Hoosier-shod cars and they just don't stand a chance there.

If you want a street/track/autox tire with an emphasis on autox, you probably want the latest ST tire (Rival, whatever). If you want to emphasize track days, go with the RA1 (or R888, or Nitto NT01, or the new Toyo RRs). If you want single-purpose tires for any of those, buy the appropriate Hoosier. :)

Hey Nathan,

I am glad you bought the Miata .

I've run many different tires on my Miata, and the most frustrating has been the R888. It doesn't really do anything well. It doesn't really do anything badly, either. Take a look at the CASC board -- the 225/45/15 Hankook RS3s that are being offered are a steal. That is a fabulous tire for that wheel. It is a known quantity.

My car is running Star Specs (on a 7 inch wheel), and slightly narrower section width (205), and it is much faster in an autox than on R888s.

Rob

I've heard quite a few complaints about the R888 from road racers, primarily regarding wear and "greasiness" when heated. In fact the Spec Miata series switched to R888 and the then switched back over to RA1s.

Like mtn said, the R888s (and the RA1s) are considered race tires.

Of the extreme performance street tire it looks like the Rival is the quickest but I am skeptical of its wet performance with that tread pattern.

mtn wrote: I would expect the Rivals/RS3/Direzza to be faster than the R888. R888 won't have time to heat up.

In autocross, this. The R888 is a streetable R-comp. That means you won't have much grip when cold and they'll go crusty faster than an EPS tire.

I'd expect the R888 would be better on the track than the EPS tires.

I've autocrossed quite a bit on RA1s. They don't go crusty as fast as the older Azenis did. And they do grip pretty well cold. So that would be my choice - and it IS my choice, on several of my cars.

ZOO wrote: Take a look at the CASC board -- the 225/45/15 Hankook RS3s that are being offered are a steal. That is a fabulous tire for that wheel. It is a known quantity.

Whats CASC?? I searched but came out with some weird links. Do you have a link?

J

If you don't live in Canada, don't worry about CASC It's the SCCA of the north.

Slippery wrote:

ZOO wrote: Take a look at the CASC board -- the 225/45/15 Hankook RS3s that are being offered are a steal. That is a fabulous tire for that wheel. It is a known quantity.

Whats CASC?? I searched but came out with some weird links. Do you have a link? J

Nathan has an account there -- hence the direction. A friend is selling his never used, never installed RS3s as he's decided to use Rivals instead. They are "Canada cheap" not "US cheap" :)

Rob

Mmadness wrote: I've heard quite a few complaints about the R888 from road racers, primarily regarding wear and "greasiness" when heated. In fact the Spec Miata series switched to R888 and the then switched back over to RA1s.

I believe Spec Miata is now using the new Toyo RR. I haven't used these yet, but I'm told they're midway between the Hoosier R6 and the RA1/NT01, with grip tending more towards the R6 end of things and heat cycle lifetime tending more towards the RA1/NT01 end -- the (almost) best of both worlds!

They'll still get killed by A6s in an R-compound autox class, though.

Keith Tanner wrote: If you don't live in Canada, don't worry about CASC It's the SCCA of the north.

I had a feeling it was not going to work for me. Thanks for the heads up

Keith Tanner wrote: I've autocrossed quite a bit on RA1s. They don't go crusty as fast as the older Azenis did. And they do grip pretty well cold. So that would be my choice - and it IS my choice, on several of my cars.

the RA1 will also kick you out of a ST class

as for the R888, for what it was designed for (my impression is it was to be a streetable track day tire) it does that quite well ..some of my fastest laps on track are on R888's (mainly 'cause I haven't sucked it up and spent the money for some purple crack yet )

Classes? You guys have classes for autocrossing?